The Catalan club produced an emphatic win against Alaves to move second on the La Liga table.
Barcelona‘s fearsome attack proved to be insurmountable as they hammered Alaves 5-1 at home to jump to the second spot in the La Liga table.
Ronald Koeman opted for a rotation-heavy squad due to the Champions League encounter against PSG in a few days. Riqui Puig and Ilaix Moriba were given the starter berth, with the latter one making his first-ever league appearance.
Francisco Trincao, who has been turning heads of late with some excellent displays, opened the account for Barca after teenager Moriba registered an assist in his debut.
Lionel Messi doubled the lead with a classic finish right before the half-time whistle, leaving no chance for Alaves goalkeeper Pacheco.
Alaves pulled back one to put some pressure on the Catalans as Luis Rioja made a meal of Moriba’s terrible pass.
However, Barca won a two-goal cushion when Trincao netted the ball on the rebound after Antonie Griezmann had his strike denied by Pacheco.
The Blaugrana skipper completed his brace with a screamer from outside the box as Alaves’ defence couldn’t do anything but watch the ball travel into the top left-corner in wonder.
Messi was at it again when he provided a key pass to Griezmann, who in turn set it up for Junior Firpo as Barca wrapped up the game in an emphatic fashion.
The win allowed Koeman’s men to move to second in the table, trailing Atletico Madrid by 8 points.
Barca await French Champions PSG in the Champions League knockouts on Tuesday.
